The Budgie People is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty.^[1] The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah explicitly refers to them by the term "the foreign-countries (or 'peoples'^[2]) of the sea" (Egyptian nȝ ḫȝt.w n pȝ ym^[3][4]) in his Great Karnak Inscription.^[5] Although some scholars believe that they "invaded" Cyprus, Hatti and the Levant, this hypothesis is disputed.^[6] It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Nineteenth Dynasty. ... Usermaatre Meryamun Powerful one of Maat and Ra, Beloved of Amun Nomen Ramesse Hekaiunu Ra bore him, Ruler of Heliopolis Consort(s) Iset Ta-Hemdjert, Tiye Issue Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI, Ramesses VIII, Amun-her-khepeshef, Khaemwaset, Meryamun, Meryatum, Montuherkhopshef, Pareherwenemef, Pentawer, Duatentopet (?) Father Setnakht Mother Tiye-Mereniset Died... The Twentieth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was founded by Setnakhte, but its only important member was Ramesses III, who modelled his career after Ramesses II the Great. ... Merneptah (occasionally: Merenptah) was pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (1213 – 1203 BC), the fourth ruler of the 19th Dynasty. ... Hatti is the reconstructed ancient name of a region in Anatolia inhabited by the Hattians between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, and later by the Hittites, who were at the height of their power ca 1400 BC–1200 BC. The capital city of both peoples was Hattusa (modern... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /lÉ™vænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ...

Historical context

The Late Bronze Age in the Aegean was characterized by raiding and resettling of threatening and migratory peoples, sometimes used as mercenaries by the Egyptians, and operating primarily on land. Many were not listed as Sea Peoples. Among them were the 'prw (Habiru) of Egyptian inscriptions, or 'apiru of cuneiform ("bandits"), and the Mariyannu, who had Indo-European names. Sandars uses the analogous name, "land peoples."^[7] Some people, such as the Lukka, were in both categories. Some scholars suspect that the Habiru are the same as the Hebrews. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) consisted of techniques for smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring outcroppings of ore, and then alloying those metals in order to cast bronze. ... Look up Aegean Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Habiru (Ha biru) or Apiru ( piru) ibrw (Egyptian ibr = horsemen w = plural) was the name given by various Sumerian, Egyptian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources (dated, roughly, from before 2000 BC to around 1200 BC) to a group of people living as MAR TU or nomadic invaders in areas... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The identity of the sea peoples has been an enigma to modern scholars, who have only the scattered records of ancient civilizations and archaeology to inform them. The evidence shows that the identities and motives of these peoples were not unknown to the Egyptians; in fact, many had been subordinate to them or in a diplomatic relationship with them for at least as long as the few centuries covered by the records.

Documentary records

Byblos obelisk

Obelisk temple, Byblos.

The earliest ethnic group^[8] later considered among the sea peoples is believed to be attested in Egyptian hieroglyphics on the "Byblos obelisk" (one of many there) found in the "Obelisk Temple" at Byblos. The inscription mentions kwkwn son of rwqq, transliterated as Kukunnis, son of Lukk-, meaning "the Lycian."^[9] The date is given variously as 2000 or 1700 BCE. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 667 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) en: Byblos, Lebanon - Obelisk Temple sl: Biblos, Libanon - tempelj obeliskov I took the photo myself. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 667 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) en: Byblos, Lebanon - Obelisk Temple sl: Biblos, Libanon - tempelj obeliskov I took the photo myself. ... Hieroglyphs are a system of writing used by the Ancient Egyptians, using a combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements. ... The ruins of the Crusader castle in Byblos. ... Lycia (Lycian: Trm̃misa) is a region in the modern day Antalya Province on the southern coast of Turkey. ...

Early Amarna age

The Lukka appear much later and also the Shardana in the Amarna Letters, perhaps of Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten, around the mid-14th century BCE. A Shardana man is an apparent renegade mercenary,^[10] and three more are slain by an Egyptian overseer.^[11] The Danuna are mentioned in another letter^[12] but only in passing reference to the death of their king. The Lukka are being accused^[13] of attacking the Egyptians in conjunction with the Alashiyans, or Cypriotes, with the latter having stated that the Lukka were seizing their villages. The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ... The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... EA 161, letter by Aziru, leader of Amurru, (stating his case to pharaoh), one of the Amarna letters in cuneiform writing on a clay tablet. ... Nebmaatre The Lord of Truth is Re[2] Nomen Amenhotep Hekawaset Amun is Satisfied, Ruler of Thebes[1] Horus name Kanakht Emkhaimaat The strong bull, appearing in truth Nebty name Semenhepusegerehtawy One establishing laws, pacifying the two lands Golden Horus Aakhepesh-husetiu Great of valour, smiting the Asiatics Consort(s... Neferkheperre-waenre Beautiful are the Manifestations of Re[2] the one of Re Nomen Akhenaten Servant of the Aten[1] (after Year 4 of his reign) Amenhotep Horus name Kanakht-Meryaten The strong bull, beloved of the Aten Nebty name Wernesytemakhetaten Great of kingship in Akhetaten Golden Horus Wetjesrenenaten Who... The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... This article is about the ancient people of the Achaeans. ... The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ... Alashiya was an important state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. ...

Reign of Ramses II

Ramses II, painted relief.

Records or possible records of sea peoples generally or in particular date to two campaigns of Ramses II, a pharaoh of the militant 19th Dynasty: operations in or near the Delta in the Year 2 of his reign, and the major confrontation with the Hittite Empire and allies at the Battle of Kadesh in the Year 5. The dates of the pharaoh's reign are not known for certain but they must have comprised nearly all of the first half of the 13th century BCE.^[14] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 511 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1460 × 1712 pixel, file size: 4 MB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 511 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1460 × 1712 pixel, file size: 4 MB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Usermaatre-setepenre The Justice of Re is Powerful, Chosen of Re Nomen Ramesses (meryamun) Born of Re, (Beloved of Amun) Horus name Kanakht Merymaa Nebty name Mekkemetwafkhasut Golden Horus Userrenput-aanehktu Consort(s) Isetnofret, Nefertari Maathorneferure Issues Bintanath, Khaemweset, Merneptah, Amun-her-khepsef Meritamen Father Seti I Mother Queen Tuya... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was... Combatants New Kingdom of Egypt Hittite Empire Commanders Ramesses II Muwatalli II Strength ca. ...

In Year 2, an attack of the Shardana or Sherden on the Nile Delta was defeated and the Shardana were led into captivity. The event is recorded on Tanis Stele II.^[15] The Shardana kept their status as captives but were incorporated into the Egyptian army for service on the Hittite frontier. The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was...

Another stele usually cited in conjunction with this one is the "Aswan Stele" (there were other stelai at Aswan), which mentions the king's operations to defeat a number of peoples including those of the "Great Green." If the latter term means "sea", the "sea peoples" seem to be indicated even at this early date, but if it means the swampy Delta region, then the peoples need not have been of the sea. It is plausible to assume that the Tanis and Aswan Stelai refer to the same event, in which case they reinforce each other.

The Battle of Kadesh was an outcome of the campaign against the Syrians and allies in the Levant in the Year 4. The imminent collision of the Egyptian and Hittite empires became obvious to the both of them and they both prepared campaigns against the strategic mid-point of Kadesh for the next year. Ramses divided his Egyptian forces, which were then ambushed piecemeal by the Hittite army and nearly defeated. The arrival of the last of the Egyptians turned the tide of battle and the king was able to escape, leaving Kadesh in Hittite hands.^[16] Combatants New Kingdom of Egypt Hittite Empire Commanders Ramesses II Muwatalli II Strength ca. ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ...

At home Ramses had his scribes formulate an official description that has been called "the Bulletin" because it was widely published by inscription. Ten copies survive today on the temples at Abydos, Karnak, Luxor and Abu Simbel, with reliefs depicting the battle. A poem, the Poem of Pentaur, describing the battle survives also.^[17] Abydos (Arabic: أبيدوس, Greek Αβυδος), one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, is about 11 km (6 miles) west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10 N. The Egyptian name was Abdju (technically, 3bdw, hieroglyphs shown to the right), the hill of the symbol or reliquary, in which the sacred... Map of Karnak, showing major temple complexes Interior of Temple First pylon of precinct of Amun viewed from the west Al-Karnak (Arabic الكرنك, in Ancient Egypt was named Ipet Sut, the most venerated place) is a small village in Egypt, located on the banks of the River Nile some 2. ... Thebes Thebes (, Thēbai) is the Greek designation of the ancient Egyptian niwt (The) City and niwt-rst (The) Southern City. It is located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile (). Thebes was the capital of Waset, the fourth Upper Egyptian nome... Model showing the relative positions of the Abu Simbel temples before and after relocation Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Wonders of the World ...

The poem relates that the previously captured Shardana were not only working for his majesty, they were formulating a plan of battle for him; i.e., it was their idea to divide Egyptian forces into four columns. There is no evidence of any collaboration with the Hittites or malicious intent on their part, and if Ramses considered it, he never left any record of that consideration. The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ...

Ramses had defeated the Kheta, or Syrians, the previous year. The poem relates that the Kheta were at Kadesh now with a force "like grasshoppers". The list is mainly "land peoples", but the Lukka are there as well. The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ...

Reign of Merneptah

I am the ruler who shepherds you ... as a father, who preserves his children, while ye fear like birds ... [Shall the land be wa]sted and forsaken at the invasion of every country, while the Nine Bows plunder its borders and rebels invade it every day? ... They spend their time going about the land, fighting, to fill their bodies daily. They come to the land of Egypt to seek the necessities of their mouths ... Their chief is like a dog, a man of boasting without courage ....Speech of Merneptah before the Battle of Perire, from the Great Karnak Inscription.

The major event of the reign of the Pharaoh Merneptah, 1213 BC to 1203 BC.^[18], 4th king of the 19th Dynasty, was his battle against a confederacy termed "the Nine Bows" at Perire in the western delta in the 5th year of his reign. Depredations of this confederacy had been so severe that the region was "forsaken as pasturage for cattle, it was left waste from the time of the ancestors."^[19] Merneptah (occasionally: Merenptah) was pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (1213 – 1203 BC), the fourth ruler of the 19th Dynasty. ... (Redirected from 1213 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1260s BC 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC - 1210s BC - 1200s BC 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC Events and Trends 1213 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed and... Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens, is deposed after a reign of 30...

The pharoh's action against them is attested in four inscriptions: the Great Karnak Inscription, describing the battle, the Cairo Column, the Athribis Stele (which last two are shorter versions of the Great Karnak) and a stele found at Thebes, called variously the Hymn of Victory, the Merneptah Stele or the Israel Stele. It describes the reign of peace resulting from the victory.^[20] The Merneptah Stele is the reverse of a stela erected by Amenhotep III written by Merneptah. ...

The Nine Bows were acting under the leadership of the king of Libya. Exactly which peoples were consistently in the Nine Bows is not clear, but present at the battle were the Libyans, some neighboring Meshwesh, peoples from the eastern Mediterranean including the Kheta, or Syrians, and (in the Israel Stele) for the first time in history the Israelites. These land peoples must have arrived in the western delta by fleet. In addition to them the first lines of the Karnak inscription include some sea peoples:^[21] The Meshwesh (often abbreviated in ancient Egyptian as Ma) were an ancient Libyan (i. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ...

[Beginning of the victory that his majesty achieved in the land of Libya] -i, Ekwesh, Teresh, Luka, Sherden, Shekelesh, Northerners coming from all lands. The Achaeans (in Greek , Achaioi) is the collective name given to the Greek forces in Homers Iliad (used 598 times). ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ... Luka is a Prague Metro station on Line B. Category: ... The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ...

Later in the inscription Merneptah receives news of the attack:

... the third season, saying: 'The wretched, fallen chief of Libya, Meryey, son of Ded , has fallen upon the country of Tehenu with his bowmen---- Sherden, Shekelesh, Ekwesh, Lukka, Teresh, Taking the best of every warrior and every man of war of his country. He has brought his wife and his children ----- leaders of the camp, and he has reached the western boundary in the fields of Perire' The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ... The Achaeans (in Greek , Achaioi) is the collective name given to the Greek forces in Homers Iliad (used 598 times). ... The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ...

Athribis Stele, garden of Cairo Museum.

"His majesty was enraged at their report, like a lion", assembled his court and gave a rousing speech. Later he dreamed he saw Ptah handing him a sword and saying "Take thou (it) and banish thou the fearful heart from thee." When the bowmen went forth, says the inscription, "Amun was with them as a shield." After six hours the surviving Nine Bows threw down their weapons, abandoned their baggage and dependents, and ran for their lives. Merneptah states that he defeated the invasion, killing 6,000 soldiers and taking 9,000 prisoners. To be sure of the numbers, among other things, he took the penises of all uncircumcised enemy dead and the hands of all the circumcised, from which history learns that the Ekwesh were circumcised, a fact causing some to doubt they were Greek. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1,002 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Vue dune autre des faces de la deuxième base des obélisques que Ramsès II fit ériger à Athribis devant le temple d... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1,002 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Vue dune autre des faces de la deuxième base des obélisques que Ramsès II fit ériger à Athribis devant le temple d... Ptah In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (also spelt Peteh) was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen (also spelt Tathenen), meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land. ... Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Ammon, and Ἅμμων Hammon, Egyptian Yamanu) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who gradually rose to become one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt, before fading into obscurity. ...

Letters at Ugarit

The ruins of Ugarit.

Some sea peoples appear in four letters found at Ugarit, the last three of which seem to foreshadow the destruction of the city around 1180 BCE. The letters are therefore dated to the early twelfth century. The last king of Ugarit was Ammurapi, or Hammurabi (c. 1191–1182 BC), who, throughout this correspondence, is quite a young man. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ...

The earliest is letter RS 34.129, found on the south side of the city, from "the Great King", presumably Suppiluliuma II of the Hittites, to the prefect of the city. He says that he ordered the king of Ugarit to send him Ibnadushu for questioning, but the king was too immature to respond. He therefore wants the prefect to send the man, whom he promises to return. Suppiluliuma II was the last known king of the Hittite empire (New kingdom) 1218 BC – c. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was...

What this language implies about the relationship of the Hittite empire to Ugarit is a matter for interpretation. Ibnadushu had been kidnapped by and had resided among a people of Shikala, probably the Shekelesh, "who lived on ships." The letter is generally interpreted as an interest in military intelligence by the king.^[22] Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ...

The last three letters, RS L 1, RS 20.238 and RS 20.18, are a set from the Rap'anu Archive between a slightly older Ammurapi, now handling his own affairs, and Eshuwara, king of Alashiya. Evidently Ammurapi had informed Eshuwara that a fleet had been spotted at sea. Alashiya was an important state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. ...

Eshuwara writes back that if that is so, he had better wall the city in and man it with troops. Where are your troops? he wants to know. In the reply the young king, clearly upset, and calling Eshuwara "my father", relates that his troops were in Hatti and Lukka, and several ships had raided and plundered villages in the state of Ugarit. Eshuwara replies "don't blame me", that those several ships were Ammurapi's countrymen, that the fleet spotted was 20 ships, and he Eshuwara, would like to know where they are.^[23]

Reign of Ramses III

Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu.

Pharoh Ramesses III, second of the 20th Dynasty, reigning for most of the first half of the 12th century BCE, was forced to deal with other invasions of the Sea Peoples, the best recorded being in his eighth year. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 379 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 757 pixel, file size: 502 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A courtyard in Medinet Habu, Luxors west bank, Egypt. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 379 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 757 pixel, file size: 502 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A courtyard in Medinet Habu, Luxors west bank, Egypt. ... Usermaatre Meryamun Powerful one of Maat and Ra, Beloved of Amun Nomen Ramesse Hekaiunu Ra bore him, Ruler of Heliopolis Consort(s) Iset Ta-Hemdjert, Tiye Issue Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI, Ramesses VIII, Amun-her-khepeshef, Khaemwaset, Meryamun, Meryatum, Montuherkhopshef, Pareherwenemef, Pentawer, Duatentopet (?) Father Setnakht Mother Tiye-Mereniset Died...

No land could stand before their arms

The ends of several civilizations around 1175 BC have instigated a theory that the Sea Peoples may have caused the collapse of the Hittite, Mycenaean and Mitanni kingdoms. The American Hittitologist, Gary Beckman, writes:^[24] Central New York City. ... Centuries: 13th century BC - 12th century BC - 11th century BC Decades: 1220s BC 1210s BC 1200s BC 1190s BC 1180s BC - 1170s BC - 1160s BC 1150s BC 1140s BC 1130s BC 1120s BC April 16, 1178 BC - A solar eclipse may mark the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ... Kingdom of Mitanni Mitanni (cuneiform KUR URUMi-it-ta-ni, also Mittani Mi-ta-an-ni, in Assyrian sources Hanigalbat, Khanigalbat cuneiform Ḫa-ni-gal-bat ) was a Hurrian kingdom in northern Mesopotamia from ca. ...

A terminus ante quem for the destruction of the Hittite empire has been recognised in an inscription carved at Medinet Habu in Egypt in the eighth year of Ramesses III (1175 BC). This text narrates a contemporary great movement of peoples in the eastern Mediterranean, as a result of which "the lands were removed and scattered to the fray. No land could stand before their arms, from Hatti, Kode, Carchemish, Arzawa, Alashiya on being cut off. [ie: cut down]" Terminus ante quem, (Limit before which), Latest date at which a text may have been written. ... Medinet Habu from the air Medinet-Habu is the mortuary temple of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III. It is located on the west bank of the River Nile at Thebes, Egypt, south of the morturary temple of Tutankhamun/Horemheb. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was... Kizzuwatna is the name of an ancient kingdom of the second millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of Anatolia, Turkey. ... Carchemish (pr. ... Arzawa is a region or kingdom in what was later to be known as Lydia in Western Anatolia. ... Alashiya was an important state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. ...

Ramesses' comments about the scale of the Sea Peoples' onslaught in the eastern Mediterranean are confirmed by the destruction of the states of Hatti, Ugarit, Ashkelon and Hazor around this time. As the Hittitologist Trevor Bryce observes:^[25] Hatti is the reconstructed ancient name of a region in Anatolia inhabited by the Hattians between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, and later by the Hittites, who were at the height of their power ca 1400 BC–1200 BC. The capital city of both peoples was Hattusa (modern... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן (Standard) AÅ¡qÉ™lon Arabic عسقلان Founded in 1951 Government City Also Spelled Ashqelon (officially) District South Population 105,100 (2004) Jurisdiction 55,000 dunams (55 km²) Mayor Roni Mahatzri Ashkelon (Hebrew: ‎; Tiberian Hebrew ʾAÅ¡qÉ™lôn; Arabic: ‎  ; Latin: Ascalon) is a city in the western Negev, in the... Hazor (Hebrew: courtyard or settlement) is the name of several places in ancient and modern Israel: // Locations in ancient Israel One of the most important Caananite towns. ...

It should be stressed that the invasions were not merely military operations, but involved the movements of large populations, by land and sea, seeking new lands to settle.

This situation is confirmed by the Medinet Habu temple reliefs which show that, as Bryce says:^[25] Medinet Habu from the air Medinet-Habu is the mortuary temple of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III. It is located on the west bank of the River Nile at Thebes, Egypt, south of the morturary temple of Tutankhamun/Horemheb. ...

the Peleset and Tjekker warriors who fought in the land battle [against Ramesses III] are accompanied in the reliefs by women and children loaded in ox-carts. Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ...

Checking the onslaught

The Nile delta today.

The inscriptions of Ramses III at his Medinet Habu mortuary temple in Thebes record three victorious campaigns against the sea peoples considered bona fide: Years 5, 8 and 12, as well as three considered spurious: against the Nubians and Libyans in Year 5 and the Libyans with Asiatics in the Year 11. During the Year 8 some Hittites were operating with the sea peoples.^[26] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 750 pixel, file size: 141 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 750 pixel, file size: 141 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Osirid statues of Ramses III at Karnak. ... Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, from the air. ... Thebes Thebes (, Thēbai) is the Greek designation of the ancient Egyptian niwt (The) City and niwt-rst (The) Southern City. It is located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile (). Thebes was the capital of Waset, the fourth Upper Egyptian nome... Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was...

The inner west wall of the second court describes the invasion of Year 5. Only the Peleset and Tjeker are mentioned, but the list is terminated by a lacuna. The attack was two-pronged, one by sea and one by land; that is, the sea peoples divided their forces. His majesty was waiting in the Nile mouths and trapped the enemy fleet there. The land forces were defeated separately. Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ...

The sea peoples did not learn strategy from this defeat, as they repeated their mistake in the Year 8 with a similar result. The campaign is recorded more extensively on the inner northwest panel of the first court. It is possible but not generally believed that the dates are only those of the inscriptions and both refer to the same campaign.

In the Year 8 the Nine Bows appear again as a "conspiracy in their isles." This time they are revealed unquestionably as sea peoples: the Peleset, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denyen and Weshesh, which are classified as "foreign countries" in the inscription. They camped in Amor and sent a fleet to the Nile. Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ... Denyen or Danuna Based on New Kingdom Egyptian text, The Danuna are considered one of the major groups of the Sea Peoples. ... ... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Amurrū (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the middle Euphrates area from the second half of the third millennium BC and also appear in the Tanakh. ...

His majesty once more was waiting. He had built a fleet especially for the occasion, hid it in the Nile mouths and posted coast watchers. The enemy fleet was ambushed there, their ships overturned, the men dragged up on shore and executed ad hoc.

The land army was attacked and routed as it crossed the Egyptian border. Additional information is given in the relief on the outer side of the east wall. The land battle occurred in the vicinity of Zahi against "the northern countries." When it was over several chiefs were captive: of Hatti, Amor and Shasu among the "land peoples" and the Tjeker, "Sherden of the sea", "Teresh of the sea" and Peleset. The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ... Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ...

The campaign of the Year 12 is attested by the Südstele found on the south side of the temple. It mentions the Tjeker, Peleset, Denyen, Weshesh and Shekelesh. The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... Denyen or Danuna Based on New Kingdom Egyptian text, The Danuna are considered one of the major groups of the Sea Peoples. ... ... Sea Peoples is the term used in ancient Egyptian records of a race of ship-faring raiders who drifted into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and attempted to enter Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty, and especially year 5 of Rameses III of the 20th Dynasty. ...

Papyrus Harris I of the period, found behind the temple, suggests a wider campaign against the sea peoples, but does not mention the date. In it the persona of Ramses III says: "I slew the Denyen (D'-yn-yw-n) in their isles" and "burned" the Tjeker and Peleset, implying a maritime raid of his own. He also captured some Sherden and Weshesh "of the sea" and settled them in Egypt.^[27] As he is called the "Ruler of Nine Bows" in the relief of the east side, these events probably happened in Year 8; i.e., his majesty would have used the victorious fleet for some punitive expeditions elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Papyrus Harris I is also known as the Great Harris Papyrus and (less accurately) simply the Harris Papyrus (though there are a number of other papyri in the Harris collection). ...

The Onomasticon of Amenemope, or Amenemipit (amen-em-apt) gives a slight credence to the idea that the Ramesides settled sea peoples in Palestine. Dated to about 1100 BCE, at the end of the 21st dynasty (which had numerous short-reigned pharohs), this document simply lists names. After six place names, four of which were in Philistia, the scribe lists the Shardana (Line 268), the Tjeker (Line 269) and the Peleset (Line 270), who might be presumed to occupy those cities.^[28] The Story of Wenamun on a papyrus of the same cache also places the Tjeker in Dor at that time. The Story of Wenamun (alternately known as the Report of Wenamun, The Misadventures of Wenamun, or [informally] as just Wenamun) is a literary text written in hieratic in the Late Egyptian language. ... Former glass factory at Nahsholim Dor (Hebrew: דוֹר, meaning dwelling), known as Dora to the Greeks and Romans, was an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, (Joshua 12:23) whose ruler was an ally of Jabin king of Hazor against Joshua, (Joshua 11:1,2). ...

Survivors

A few states such as Byblos and Sidon managed to survive the Sea Peoples' invasions unscathed. Despite Ramses' III's pessimism, Carchemish also survived the Sea Peoples' onslaught. King Kuzi-Tesup I is attested in power there and was the son of Talmi-Tesup who was a contemporary of the last ruling Hittite king, Suppiluliuma II.^[29] He and his successors ruled a small empire from Carchemish which stretched from "Southeast Asia Minor, North Syria...[to] the west bend of the Euphrates."^[30] from c.1175 BC to 990 BC. The ruins of the Crusader castle in Byblos. ... View of the new city the Sea Castle. ... Carchemish (pr. ... Suppiluliuma II was the last known king of the Hittite empire (New kingdom) 1218 BC – c. ...

Hypotheses about the Sea Peoples

A number of hypotheses concerning the identities and motives of the sea peoples described in the records have been formulated. They are not necessarily alternative or contradictory hypotheses; any or all might be mainly or partly true.

Philistine hypothesis

Main article: Philistines

Goliath, a Philistine warrior. Lithograph by Osmar Schindler.

The archaeological evidence from the southern coastal plain of modern day Israel and the Gaza Strip, termed Philistia in the Hebrew Bible, indicates a disruption^[31] of the Canaanite culture that existed during the Late Bronze Age, and its replacement (with some integration) by a culture with a possibly foreign (mainly Aegean) origin. This includes distinct pottery, which at first belongs to the Mycenaean IIIC tradition (albeit of local manufacture) and gradually transforms into a uniquely Philistine pottery. Mazar says:^[32] Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 439 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (586 × 800 pixel, file size: 108 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Osmar Schindler (1869-1927): David und Goliath, 1888 Colour lithograph; image: 78 x 58 cm Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 439 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (586 × 800 pixel, file size: 108 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Osmar Schindler (1869-1927): David und Goliath, 1888 Colour lithograph; image: 78 x 58 cm Faithful reproductions of two-dimensional original works cannot attract copyright in... David faces Goliath in single combat. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum Hebrew Bible is a term that refers to the common portions of the Jewish canon and the Christian canons. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... The Helladic is a period of ancient Greek Civilization. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ...

... in Philistia, the producers of Mycenaean IIIC pottery must be identified as the Philistines. The logical conclusion, therefore, is that the Philistines were a group of Mycenaean Greeks who immigrated to the east .... Within several decades ... a new bichrome style, known as the "Philistine", appeared in Philistia ...

Sandars, however, does not take this point of view, but says:^[33]

... it would be less misleading to call this 'Philistine pottery' 'Sea Peoples' pottery or 'foreign' pottery, without commitment to any particular group.

Artifacts of the Philistine culture are found at numerous sites, in particular in the excavations of the five main cities of the Philistines: the "Pentapolis" of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. Some scholars (e.g. S. Sherratt, Drews, etc.) have challenged the theory that the Philistine culture is an immigrant culture, claiming instead that they are an in situ development of the Canaanite culture, but others argue for the immigrant hypothesis; for example, T. Dothan and Barako. The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... A Pentapolis, from the Greek words penta five and polis city(-state) is geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. ... Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן (Standard) AÅ¡qÉ™lon Arabic عسقلان Founded in 1951 Government City Also Spelled Ashqelon (officially) District South Population 105,100 (2004) Jurisdiction 55,000 dunams (55 km²) Mayor Roni Mahatzri Ashkelon (Hebrew: ‎; Tiberian Hebrew ʾAÅ¡qÉ™lôn; Arabic: ‎  ; Latin: Ascalon) is a city in the western Negev, in the... Hebrew אשדוד Founded in 1956 Government City (from 1968) District South Population 204. ... The city of Ekron (Hebrew עֶקְרוֹן, Standard Hebrew Ê»Eqron, Tiberian Hebrew Ê»Eqrôn) was one of the five Philistine cities in southwestern Canaan. ... Gath (גת Hebrew: winepress), a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish name Garza or the Egyptian town of Giza. ...

Minoan hypothesis

Two of the peoples who settled in the Levant have traditions that may connect them to Crete: the Tjeker and the Peleset. The Tjeker may have left Crete to settle in Anatolia and left there to settle Dor.^[34] According to the Old Testament^[35] the Lord brought the Philistines out of Caphtor, which is accepted by the mainstream of Biblical and classical scholarship as Crete, but there are alternative minority theories.^[36] Crete of the times was populated by peoples speaking a good many languages, among which were Mycenaean Greek and Eteocretan, the descendant of the language of the Minoans. It is possible but by no means certain that these two peoples spoke Eteocretan. The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη — classical transliteration Krētē, modern Greek transliteration Kríti; Ottoman Turkish گريد (Girit); Classical Latin Crēta, Vulgar Latin Candia) is the largest of the Greek islands at 8,336 km² (3,219 square miles) and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... Map showing the location of Philistine land and cities of Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon Map of the southern Levant, c. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... Former glass factory at Nahsholim Dor (Hebrew: דוֹר, meaning dwelling), known as Dora to the Greeks and Romans, was an ancient royal city of the Canaanites, (Joshua 12:23) whose ruler was an ally of Jabin king of Hazor against Joshua, (Joshua 11:1,2). ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... Caphtor is the land of the Biblical Caphtorim (Egyptian Keftiu, Mari Kaptara), said in Gen. ... Map of Bronze Age Greece as described in Homers Iliad Mycenaean is the most ancient known form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Dorian invasion. ... The Eteocretan (i. ... The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ...

For more details on this topic, see Caphtor.

Caphtor is the land of the Biblical Caphtorim (Egyptian Keftiu, Mari Kaptara), said in Gen. ...

Greek migrational hypothesis

Main article: Mycenaean Greece

Odysseus "no man" offering wine to the Cyclops. Drawing of a statue in the Vatican.

The identifications of Denyen with the Greek Danaans and Ekwesh with the Greek Achaeans are long-standing issues in Bronze Age scholarship, whether Greek, Hittite or Biblical, especially as they lived "in the isles." If the Greeks do appear as sea peoples, what were they doing? Michael Wood gives a good summary of the question and the hypothetical role of the Greeks (who have already been proposed as the identity of the Philistines above):^[37] Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ... Image File history File links Odysseus_bjuder_cyklopen_vin,_Nordisk_familjebok. ... Image File history File links Odysseus_bjuder_cyklopen_vin,_Nordisk_familjebok. ... Head of Odysseus from a Greek 2nd century BC marble group representing Odysseus blinding Polyphemus, found at the villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga Odysseus or Ulysses (Greek Odysseus; Latin: Ulixes or, more commonly, Ulysses), pronounced , was the Greek king of Ithaca and the main hero in Homers epic poem... Polyphemus the Cyclops. ... This article is about the ancient people of the Achaeans. ... The Achaeans (in Greek , Achaioi) is the collective name given to the Greek forces in Homers Iliad (used 598 times). ...

... were the sea peoples ... in part actually composed of Mycenaean Greeks - rootless migrants, warrior bands and condottieri on the move ...? Certainly there seem to be suggestive parallels between the war gear and helmets of the Greeks ... and those of the Sea Peoples ....<

Wood would include also the Sherden and Shekelesh, pointing that "there were migrations of Greek-speaking peoples to the same place [Sardinia and Sicily] at this time." He is careful to point out that the Greeks must only have been an element among the peoples, and that their numbers must have been relatively small. His major hypothesis,^[37] however, is that the Trojan War was fought against Troy VI and that Troy VIIa, the candidate of Carl Blegen, was sacked by essentially Greek sea peoples. He suggests that Odysseus' assumed identity of a wandering Cretan coming home from the Trojan War who fights in Egypt and serves there after being captured^[38] "remembers" the campaign of Year 8 of Ramses III, described above. He points out also that places destroyed on Cyprus at the time (such as Kition) were rebuilt by a new Greek-speaking population. For the 1997 film, see Trojan War (film). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Larnaca, or Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus. ...

Trojan Hypothesis

Main article: Troy

Aeneas flees burning Troy carrying the past and leading the future by the hand. Woodcut by Ludolph Titel Büsinck.

The possibility that the Teresh were connected on the one hand with the Tyrrhenians,^[39] believed to be an Etruscan-related culture, and on the other with Taruissa, a Hittite name possibly referring to Troy,^[40] had already been on the academic card table for some time. The Roman poet, Vergil, plays this card when he depicts Aeneas as escaping the fall of Troy by coming to Latium, there to found a line descending to Romulus, first king of Rome. Considering that Anatolian connections have been identified for other sea peoples, such as the Tjeker and the Lukka, Zangger puts together an Anatolian suite:^[41] For other uses of Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 380 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (500 × 788 pixel, file size: 205 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Büsinck, Ludolph Titel: Aeneas rettet seinen Vater Anchises Chiaroscuro Woodcut Aeneas rettet seinen Vater Anchises aus dem brennenden Troja. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 380 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (500 × 788 pixel, file size: 205 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Büsinck, Ludolph Titel: Aeneas rettet seinen Vater Anchises Chiaroscuro Woodcut Aeneas rettet seinen Vater Anchises aus dem brennenden Troja. ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... For other uses of Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek TurrÄ“noi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic TursÄ“noi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ... Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or Vergil, was a classical Roman poet, the author of epics in three modes: the Bucolics [commonly but less correctly called the Eclogues], the Georgics and the substantially completed Aeneid... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... Latium (Lazio in Italian) is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Marche, Molise, Campania and the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... Romulus may refer to any of these articles: Romulus is a mythical founder of Rome, brother of Remus. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... The Lukka lands are often mentioned in Hittite texts from the second millennium BC. It denotes a region in the southwestern part of Asia Minor, modern Turkey. ...

The Sea People may well have been Troy and its confederated allies, and the literary tradition of the Trojan War may well reflect the Greek effort to counter those raids.

Mycenaean warfare hypothesis

This theory suggests that the Sea Peoples were populations from the city states of the Greek Mycenaean civilization, who destroyed each other in a disastrous series of conflicts lasting several decades. There would have been few or no external invaders and just a few excursions outside the Greek-speaking part of the Aegean civilization. A clay tablet with writing in Linear B from Mycenae. ... Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean. ...

Eteocles and Polyneices in combat in the war of the Seven against Thebes, an example of Mycenaean fratricidal conflict. Painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

Archaeological evidence indicates that many fortified sites of the Greek domain were destroyed in the 13th century BCE, which destruction was understood at mid-20th-century to have been simultaneous or nearly so and was attributed to the Dorian Invasion championed by Carl Blegen of the University of Cincinnati. He believed Mycenaean Pylos was burned during an amphibious raid by warriors from the north (Dorians). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 263 × 598 pixel Image in higher resolution (1000 × 2274 pixel, file size: 184 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Eteocles Polynices ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 263 × 598 pixel Image in higher resolution (1000 × 2274 pixel, file size: 184 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Eteocles Polynices ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Επτά επί Θήβας The Seven Against Thebes is a mythic narrative that finds its classic statement in the play by Aeschylus (467 BCE) concerning the battle between the Seven led by Polynices and the army of Thebes headed by Eteocles and his supporters, traditional Theban... Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was an Venetian painter and printmaker, considered among the last Grand Manner fresco painters from the Venetian republic. ... This article or section should be merged with Dorian The Dorian invasion is one of the theories advanced to explain the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in ancient Greece. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The University of Cincinnati is a state university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. ... This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. ... This article or section should include material from Dorian invasion The Dorians were one of the ancient Hellenic (Greek) races. ...

Subsequent critical analysis focused on the facts that the destructions were not simultaneous and all the evidence of Dorians came from later times. John Chadwick championed a sea peoples hypothesis,^[42] which asserted that as the Pylians had retreated to the northeast, the attack must have come from the southwest, the sea peoples being, in his view, the most likely candidates. He states that they were based in Anatolia and although doubting that Mycenaeans called themselves "Achaeans" speculates that "... it is very tempting to bring them into connexion." He does not assign the Greek identity to all the sea peoples. This article or section should include material from Dorian invasion The Dorians were one of the ancient Hellenic (Greek) races. ... John Chadwick (21 May 1920 – 24 November 1998) was an English linguist and classical scholar most famous for his role in deciphering Linear B, along with Michael Ventris. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ...

Considering the turbulence between and within the great families of the Mycenaean city-states in Greek mythology, the hypothesis that the Mycenaeans destroyed themselves is long-standing^[43] and finds support by the reputable Greek historian Thucydides, who theorized:^[44] Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ...

For in early times the Hellenes and the barbarians of the coast and islands ... were tempted to turn to piracy, under the conduct of their most powerful men ... they would fall upon a town unprotected by walls ... and would plunder it ... no disgrace being yet attached to such an achievement, but even some glory.

The connection of these predations to the fall of Mycenaean Greece and more widely to the sea peoples is a logical outcome. Although some advocates of the Philistine or Greek migration hypotheses (above) identify all the Mycenaeans or sea peoples as ethnically Greek, the cautious Chadwick (founder, with Michael Ventris, of Linear B studies) adopts rather the mixed ethnicity view. [[1]] Michael George Francis Ventris (July 12, 1922–September 6, 1956) was an English architect and classical scholar, who along with John Chadwick was responsible for the decipherment of Linear B. Michael Ventris was educated in Switzerland and at Stowe School, housed in a magnificent 18th century country house. ... This article is about the ancient syllabary. ...

See also: Achaeans and Mycenaean Greece

The Achaeans (in Greek , Achaioi) is the collective name given to the Greek forces in Homers Iliad (used 598 times). ... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ...

Italian peoples hypotheses

Sardinian bronze with the horns of the Shardana, Cagliari Museo Nazionale.

Theories of possible connections of Sherdana to Sardinia, Shekelesh to Sicily and Teresh to Tyrrhenians even though long-standing are based inconclusively on linguistics. Is the sardine a fish that was caught by Sardinians or was it snared further east? Is a sardonic laugh one caused by the plant, sardonium, from ancient Sardis, capital of Lydia, or from Sardinia?^[45] The pre-Roman Sicels are known from a number of locations, including Sicily, presumed named after them. The Tyrrhenian Sea gives some credence to the story of Tyrrhenus mentioned above. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 346 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1479 × 2560 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 346 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1479 × 2560 pixel, file size: 2. ... Cagliari, the chief town. ... The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ... Cagliari, the chief town. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek TurrÄ“noi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic TursÄ“noi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under... Lydia (Greek ) is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkeys modern provinces of Ä°zmir and Manisa. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Tyrrhenian Sea. ...

No evidence has been uncovered yet to settle the enigmatic Italian connections of these sea peoples. The self-name of the Etruscans, rasna, does not lend itself to the Tyrrhenian derivation. Assertions in various articles and books that the Sherdana definitely were or were not from Sardis or some ancestor state have no foundation in the evidence. The Etruscan civilization has been studied and the language partly deciphered. It has variants and representatives in Aegean inscriptions, but these may well be from travellers or colonists of Etruscans during their sea-faring period before Rome destroyed their power. The entire Etruscan civilization can scarcely be explained by a few ships of Teresh or even a whole fleet. The Etruscan civilization existed in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman Republic. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under... Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5...

Archaeology is equally enigmatic. About all that can be said for certain is that Mycenaean pottery was widespread around the Mediterranean and its introduction at various places, including Sardinia, is often associated with cultural change, violent or gradual. These circumstances appear to be enough for archaeological theorizers. The prevalent speculation is that the Shardana and Shekelesh brought those names with them to Sardinia and Sicily, "perhaps not operating from those great islands but moving toward them."^[46] More recent genetic evidence indicates that the populations in those regions are more related to the people of Anatolia than to anywhere else, but this evidence is not event- or period-specific. Mycenaean may refer to: Mycenae, coming from or belonging to this ancient town in Peloponnese in Greece Mycenaean Greece, the Greek-speaking regions of the Aegean Sea as of the Late Bronze Age, named (somewhat anachronistically) after the Mycenae of the Trojan War epics Mycenaean language, an ancient form of...

See also: Nuraghe, History of Sicily, and Tyrrhenians

Su Nuraxi, Barumini, Sardinia Central tower of the Nuraghe at Saint Antine of Torralba Su Nurraxi. ... Ruins of a temple at Solunto. ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ...

Anatolian famine hypothesis

A famous passage from Herodotus^[47] portrays the wandering and migration of Lydians from Anatolia because of famine: This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Lydia (Greek ) is a historic region of western Anatolia, congruent with Turkeys modern provinces of İzmir and Manisa. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ...

In the days of Atys, the son of Manes, there was a great scarcity through the whole land of Lydia .... So the king determined to divide the nation in half ... the one to stay, the other to leave the land. ... the emigrants should have his son Tyrrhenus for their leader ... they went down to Smyrna, and built themselves ships ... after sailing past many countries they came to Umbria ... and called themselves ... Tyrrhenians. Genera Aliculastrum Atys Cylichnium Diniatys Haloa Haminoea Hamineobulla Liloa Limulatys Micratys Mimatys Nipponatys Sericohaminoea Sphaeratys Ventomnestia Weinkauffia Family Haminoeidae Pilsbry, 1895 , or the haminoeid bubble family, is a family of marine bubble shells that belong to the superfamily Haminoeoidea. ... In Roman mythology, the Manes were the souls of deceased loved ones. ... In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities. ... Agora of Smyrna Smyrna (Greek: Σμύρνη) is an ancient city (today İzmir in Turkey) that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. ... Umbria is a region of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. ... The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ...

Connections to the Teresh of the Merneptah Stele, which also mentions shipments of grain to the Hittite Empire to relieve famine, are logically unavoidable. Many have made them, generally proposing a coalition of sea-going migrants from Anatolia and the islands seeking relief from scarcity. Tablet RS 18.38 from Ugarit also mentions grain to the Hittites, suggesting a long period of famine, connected further, in the full theory, to drought.^[48] More recently Sanford Holst^[49] proposed that the Sea Peoples, facing starvation, migrated from Anatolia and the Black Sea, in cooperation with the earliest Phoenicians (Canaanites just beginning to be called by that name), seeking food and land upon which to settle. The Merneptah Stele is the reverse of a stela erected by Amenhotep III written by Merneptah. ... Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of Bo&#287;azköy in todayss north-central Turkey), through most of the second millennium BC. The Hittite kingdom, which at... Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; meaning top/head/cape of the wild fennel in Arabic) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ... This article is about the land called Canaan. ...

See also: Tyrrhenians and Phoenicians

The Tyrrhenians (Attic Greek Turrēnoi) or Tyrsenians (Ionic Tursēnoi, Doric Tursānoi) is an exonym used by Greek authors to refer to a non-Greek people. ... Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ...

Invader hypothesis

The term invasion is used generally in the literature concerning the period to mean the documented attacks implying a local or unspecified origin. An origin outside the Aegean also has been proposed, as in this example by Michael Grant: There are several people with the name Michael Grant: Michael Grant (author), the historian who wrote about the Roman empire Michael Grant (boxer), the boxer Michael Grant, 12th Baron de Longueuil This human name article is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that might otherwise share the same title...

There was a gigantic series of migratory waves, extending all the way from the Danube valley to the plains of China.^[50] The Danube (ancient Danuvius, Iranian *dānu, meaning river or stream, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river in the European Union and Europes second longest river. ...

Such a comprehensive movement is associated with more than one people or culture; instead, a "disturbance" happens, according to Finley:^[51]

A large-scale movement of people is indicated ... the original centre of disturbance was in the Carpatho-Danubian region of Europe. ... It appears ... to have been ... pushing in different directions at different times. Satellite image of the Carpathians. ... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, Iranian *dānu, meaning river or stream, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river in the European Union and Europes second longest river. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

If different times are allowed on the Danube, they are not in the Aegean:^[51]

...all this destruction must be dated to the same period about 1200.

The following movements are compressed by Finley into the 1200 BCE window: the Dorian Invasion, the attacks of the Sea Peoples, the formation of Philistine kingdoms in the Levant and the fall of the Hittite Empire, when in fact those events required at least a few hundred years. This article or section should be merged with Dorian The Dorian invasion is one of the theories advanced to explain the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in ancient Greece. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URU) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was...

The archaeological evidence is treated in the same way. Robert Drews^[52] presents a map showing the destruction sites of some 47 fortified major settlements, which he terms "Major Sites Destroyed in the Catastrophe." They are concentrated in the Levant, with some in Greece and Anatolia. The questions of dates and agents of destruction remain for the most part unanswered in detail, without which no single catastophe or related catastophes can be postulated beyond the level of pure speculation. The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ...

The invaders; that is, the replacement cultures at those sites, apparently made no attempt to retain the cities' wealth, but instead built new settlements of a materially simpler cultural and less complex economic level atop the ruins. For example, no one appropriated the palace and rich stores at Pylos, but all were burned up and the successors (whoever they were) moved in over the ruins with plain pottery and simple goods. This demonstrates a cultural discontinuity. This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. ...

Whether all the discontinuities were sufficiently contemporaneous to warrant a theory of great waves of invasion is another question. Ethnic identities from the Danube and beyond are in short supply in the records. The Danube (ancient Danuvius, Iranian *dānu, meaning river or stream, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river in the European Union and Europes second longest river. ...

Notes

Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (June 23, 1846 - June 30, 1916), French Egyptologist, was born in Paris, his parents being of Lombard origin. ... Merneptah (occasionally: Merenptah) was pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (1213 – 1203 BC), the fourth ruler of the 19th Dynasty. ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... The Tjekker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. They raided Egypt repeatedly before settling in northern Canaan. ... Caphtor is the land of the Biblical Caphtorim (Egyptian Keftiu, Mari Kaptara), said in Gen. ... The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHD) is a dictionary of American English published by Boston publisher Houghton-Mifflin, the first edition of which appeared in 1969. ... The growth rings of an unknown tree species, at Bristol Zoo, England Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. ...

Bibliography

Jürgen von Beckerath (born 19 February 1920) is a prominent German Egyptologist. ... Cover of Time Magazine, December 14, 1931 James Henry Breasted (August 27, 1865–December 2, 1935) was born in Rockford, Illinois and was an archaeologist and historian. ... Trevor Robert Bryce (b. ... John Chadwick (21 May 1920 – 24 November 1998) was an English linguist and classical scholar most famous for his role in deciphering Linear B, along with Michael Ventris. ... Sir Moses I. Finley (Moses Israel Finkelstein) (May 20, 1912–June 23, 1986) was an American and British classical scholar. ... Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner (March 29, 1879 Eltham - December 19, 1963 Oxford) was one of the premier British Egyptologists of the early and mid-Twentieth century. ... There are several people with the name Michael Grant: Michael Grant (author), the historian who wrote about the Roman empire Michael Grant (boxer), the boxer Michael Grant, 12th Baron de Longueuil This human name article is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that might otherwise share the same title... Sanford Holst (b. ... Michael Gerald Hasel is an American archaeologist and Egyptologist. ... Emeritus Professor Kenneth A. Kitchen (University of Liverpool publicity photograph, 2006). ... Amihai Ami Mazar (born 1942) is an Israeli archaeologist. ... Donald B. Redford is an influential Canadian Egyptologist and archaeologist, currently Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University. ... Emily Dickinson Townsend Vermeule (New York City August 11, 1928 – Cambridge, Massachusetts February 6, 2001) was an American classical scholar and archaeologist. ... Michael Wood reading from an edition of the Domesday Book in a BBC Four documentary about Gilbert White Michael Wood (born Michael David Wood, July 23, 1948 in Manchester) is a popular English historian and broadcaster, presenter of numerous television documentary series. ... Erasmus University Rotterdam is a university in the Netherlands, located in Rotterdam. ... Eberhard Zangger, (born in 1958), a senior research associate in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge (1988–91), is a German writer on geoarchaeology investigating the global interrelations between man and environment, especially in the prehistoric and protohistoric Aegean. ...

External links

• The Sea Peoples and the Philistines: a course at Penn State
• Sea Peoples and the Phoenicians: a paper presented to the World History Association, Ifrane, Morocco on June 27-29, 2005 by Sanford Holst.
• Egyptians, Canaanites, and Philistines in the Period of the Emergence of Early Israel, paper by Itamar Singer at the UCLA Near Eastern Languages & Culture site.
• Who Were the Sea People?, article by Eberhard Zangger in Saudi Aramco World, Volume 46, Number 3, May/June 1995.
• The Origins of the Sea Peoples, undergraduate paper by Joseph Morris published by Florida State University Classic Department.
• The Sea Peoples and Annales: A Contextual Study of the Late Bronze Age, Master's Thesis of Daniel Jacobus Krüger, published at the University of South Africa site.
• The Battle of the Nile - Circa 1190 B.C., article by "I Cornelius" in "Military History Journal" - Vol 7 No 4 of the The South African Military History Society.
• Sea Peoples, unsigned article on ancientearth.org site.